Palaeolithic and Neolithic Occupations in the Témara Region (Rabat, Morocco): Recent Data on Hominin Contexts and Behavior

Abstract

In the 1970s, the discoveries of Palaeolithic human remains in the caves of Dar es Soltane 2, El Harhoura 1 and Les Contrebandiers reinforced interest in the sites of the Temara region. These sites, often cited, have been the object of numerous investigations which have produced a major contribution to the prehistory of Morocco. Over the past 15 years, research at two key sites, El Mnasra and El Harhoura 2, have considerably enhanced the available data for this region. Preliminary results obtained from excavations since 2001, allow us to present the palaeoenvironmental framework and describe the technological behaviour of prehistoric groups within a re-evaluated stratigraphic context. The microfaunal and macrofaunal assemblages are analysed according to systematics, taphonomy and palaeoecology. The lithic and bone industries document patterns of raw material acquisition and transformation. Within the context of the history of more than 60 years of research in the region of Temara, this contribution allows us to approach the question of Palaeolithic population on the basis of recent, and for the most part new, data and evidence.